Before I call on Senator McGahon, as Cathaoirleach and on behalf of the Members, I welcome on his first visit as the newly appointed Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, our former colleague and friend, Deputy Neale Richmond, who was formerly Senator Richmond. He is very welcome to Seanad Éireann and I congratulate him on his appointment and wish him, on behalf of myself and Members of the House, every success in his new role. Go raibh maith agat.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Work Permits
Hear, hear.
It is great to have the Minister of State in the House. He served at the same time as Senators Boyhan, McDowell, Conway and Burke and indeed with the Cathaoirleach. It is great to see there is a pathway for all of us from this House to very high office. However, we should perhaps follow more in the spirit of Senator Hackett who was appointed directly from here to Cabinet. I am going off on a tangent.
I would like to pay tribute to Deputy Richmond's predecessor, the former Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy English. He served this country with great distinction over a number of years in various Departments and ministries and I would like to pay tribute to all the work he has put in.
The reason I am talking about permits, and the Minister of State will know that this has been a somewhat political issue in the last couple of years, is that it has been difficult to get key workers in the critical sectors of the Irish economy because of the length of time it takes to process work permit applications. I know a lot of work has been done in the last couple of months to streamline them and I welcome that and think that is excellent. However, I am raising this matter in the House and with the Minister of State because I would like to know what his plans are, as a new Minister of State, and in his Department to try to streamline the process and make it more efficient. This will make sure that people who want to come to this country, to work in this country, and play a part in our economy and Irish society have the ability to do that as quickly as possible and are not left in limbo because of red tape and bureaucracy.
To bring the issue to a more localised level in my county, in Dundalk and wider County Louth there are many examples. These include foreign multinational companies, of which we have a substantial number, who are trying to bring workers in and are not able to do so because of the restrictive and long drawn-out nature of the process. When I looked at Amazon for example, it was responsible for 3.5% of all the work permit applications in 2022. That worked out at roughly 1,394 people. That was 1,394 people who came to this country to work for just one organisation. Equally when we look at agriculture, and I have discussed this quite a lot with people involved in the agricultural community in County Louth, it has become quite difficult to source staff from local economies. That is why people who come into Ireland will play such a vital role in our agricultural process.
When one looks at the wider aspect, for instance home carers and medical practitioners, the concept is that we want to keep people in their homes for as long as possible and home care assistants play a vital role in that. It is about making sure that people who want to come to this country are able to do so in a timely and efficient manner.
I am somewhat concerned about the speed of processing applications. Particularly for local economies and especially for Border economies like County Louth, it is very important. I have raised this matter and want to hear directly from the Minister of State what his plans are and how the process will be streamlined. I acknowledge a lot of work has happened in recent months to try to speed it up but there is a lot more to do. We have a concept that we have full employment in this country and we have people from right across the world who want to come to Ireland because we are an economic success story. We absolutely are and we have people coming here who want to work and contribute to Irish society and to the Irish economy. We should make that as easy as possible for people who want to come and work here and I would be very keen to hear the Minister of State's views on the matter.
I thank Senator McGahon. Before the Minister of State replies, I would like to be very much associated with the words of congratulations to him. We all knew his capabilities and abilities when he served in this House and he chaired the Brexit committee. His portfolio is very suited to his skill set and we wish him well.
Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh Gníomhach. I hope I receive that sort of welcome every time I come back to the House going forward, be it for Commencement matters or legislative debates. It is certainly an aspiration of mine in this new role to spend considerable time engaging with Senators on key issues, one of which is work permits, which falls within my remit in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I am grateful to Senator McGahon not only for raising this issue but also for his clear illustration of how it is impacting the people on the ground in Louth whom he serves every day as a Senator and whom he served previously as a county councillor.
As he will be aware, the employment permit system is not just an important part of our workforce but also crucial for many businesses looking to expand and to hire more staff. One of the great difficulties but also one of the great opportunities at the moment is that we are at effective full employment in our economy and, therefore, businesses, unfortunately, are faced with a position where they cannot find Irish or EEA nationals available to undertake certain roles. These shortages are genuine. The work permit system seeks to fill this gap and to help these businesses to find and hire the necessary talent they require. Any opportunity for businesses to expand, contribute to our economy and employ more staff simply has to be welcomed across the Houses.
I acknowledge that many Senators will have heard from businesses that have experienced delays in accessing their work permits, just like the employers in Senator McGahon's constituency. We previously found ourselves in a position where large demands for permits led to long delays. In 2021, alone 27,666 applications were received. That was a 69% increase on 2020 and a 47% increase on 2019, which, of course, was a non-Covid year. This was a high that had not been seen in more than a decade.
These delays had an impact on processing times, but I am glad that they have been significantly reduced. The current wait and processing time for a permit has been reduced from 21 weeks at the start of 2022 to one to two weeks at a maximum now. That is a significant change that has come through dedicated work, most importantly by my predecessor in this role, Deputy English, work to which the Senator referred, but also by a vast array of officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment working with key stakeholders, be it in the trade union movement or in the employer sectors or with industry.
This was done as at the start of 2022 an action plan was introduced to reduce the backlog. Resources were increased and more efficient methods of processing employment permit applications were applied. The processing time was trebled in size and daily output more than tripled compared with 2021 levels.
Work has also been under way on a sectoral level in respect of access to permits. From November 2021 my Department introduced a number of key operational improvements in the way in which doctors can access the employment permit system. These changes mean that doctors in public health settings no longer need to submit further employment permit applications but, instead, can simply advise my Department of their HSE location, thereby reducing the administrative burden on the Department, the HSE, hospitals and the doctors themselves. This has removed many hundreds of applications from the employment permits system.
The system is currently operating very well. The number of applications awaiting processing has fallen from approximately 11,000 in January 2022 to just under 900 as of this morning. That comes alongside a growth in demand for applications. The progress in the processing and wait time for these permits is a significant achievement and has been warmly welcomed by businesses across the country, but I know that many businesses may still have issues within the system and I am always willing to engage with them, to listen to the problems they may have and to see what can be done to improve their experience.
An awful lot more needs to be done in this area. An awful lot of work is under way, but the level of engagement from the likes of Senators, who are on the ground in their constituencies daily dealing with applicants and businesses alike, will ensure that this process is continuously improved.
The last point the Minister of State made was one of the most important, that is, that in his time in the Department his door will always be open for businesses still struggling with some aspects of this. That is welcome and it will be prudent of him in his role because it provides that direct line of access to businesses experiencing this.
I will address a couple of points in the Minister of State's response, which was quite impressive. In 2021 alone ,there were 27,000 applications, a 69% increase on 2020 and a 47% increase on 2019. That does not lend credence to what many people in the Opposition say, which is that this is some sort of a failed State. We are at full employment, we have people who are coming here to work and they are doing that because we have a society we can be proud of.
The other point I wish to note is that wait times have gone from 21 weeks down to one to two weeks. Again, that is down to a lot of the supports that were put in place and the fact, as the Minister of State said, that the output was trebled. That was welcome from the Minister of State's predecessor, but I am very keen to see the work he will do in this area throughout the rest of his time in the Department.
It is interesting to note two other statistics.
Last year, we saw 80,000 Irish emigrants return to Ireland and we have net inward migration in this State. This fairy tale that some people want to tell, that people are fleeing Ireland and it is a failed state, is complete nonsense. People want to come here and they want to come home and they are welcome. We all recognise and acknowledge the societal challenges in bringing people back in and that there are difficulties in certain policies.
When it comes to work permits, two areas are extremely important going forward. The Department has recently appointed IT system specialists to undertake the design and implementation of a new employment permits system, which will benefit many. Also, in December the Government agreed to establish an interdepartmental working group to develop an implementation plan for a single application procedure for employment permits and, crucially, the immigration permissions that will accompany them. This is a good news story that is worth talking about. I hope to work more closely on it with Senator McGahon and other Senators going forward.
EU Directives
I join in congratulating the Minister of State on his appointment. My question is on the EU directive on adequate minimum wages. This is one of the most ground-breaking laws on workers’ rights to come out of the EU in the past 40 years. It contains a clear recognition that we cannot allow a large number of workers to be trapped in low-paid employment and poor working conditions and, crucially, to be left with no means to fight for better conditions and a more sustainable livelihood. There must be a recognition that every single worker is entitled to dignity and respect at work. There must also be a recognition that there are imbalances in workplaces.
I offer my sincere apologies to the Senator for disturbing her but a vote has been called in the Dáil and the Minister of State has to go to the Chamber. We will suspend for the duration of the vote.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 2.47 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 2.47 p.m. and resumed at 3 p.m.
Senator Sherlock is to resume.
I thank the Acting Chair. I think he has taken about 18 seconds off me but we will pardon him that. I was talking about the importance of the EU directive on adequate minimum wages. It is crucial to say that this is not about hiking wages but ensuring there is a framework for workers to negotiate sustainable terms and conditions within their sector and employment. The question is about the timeline and process. What is the Department's plan to transpose this legislation? When are we likely to get the heads of Bill? We know that the Taoiseach, when he was the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, stated last October that he hoped to transpose this legislation by the end of 2023. Some doubt has been cast on that by the ministerial guidance provided to the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, this year. It is vital that we get this process started sooner rather than later.
Much of the legwork to put in place a comprehensive framework for better collective bargaining rights in this country was undertaken by the high-level group on collective bargaining, chaired by Professor Michael Doherty, who published his report last summer. It is vital that we have an understanding of the timeline. It is important because we know that more than one in four people in this country are low-paid. They are in the sectors that we are all too familiar with, including the care sector in communities and homes, hospitality, retail, agriculture, leisure and a range of other sectors. Just because we have so-called full employment right now, with major worker shortages, I appeal to the Minister of State not to fall into the trap of believing that people can leave those low-paid sectors, up sticks and get jobs elsewhere. They are there because they love their jobs and have trained for them. It is what they know and where they want to stay. They want to improve the conditions in their own sector.
The Minister of State's Department has not covered itself in glory with regard to defending workers' rights over the past year. Joint labour committees for the contract cleaning and security sectors were supposed to be the good news stories with regard to how the State supports collective bargaining.
Yet on three separate occasions last year the Department did not even bother to turn up to court, even though the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment was being injuncted to prevent him from signing into law the security sector wage agreement. We were assured by the then Minister of State, Deputy English, the then Tánaiste and now Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and officials in the Department that they were working to resolve this issue but in August and, in particular, November and December, the Department failed to turn up in court. I tuned into proceedings on 21 December. It made a laughing stock of the State when the solicitor for those taking the judicial review, when asked what engagement there had been with the other side, said contact could not be made with the State. When the judge gave a date for the hearing he said that maybe "they" would turn up the next time, "they" being the Government. This is a very sorry and poor reflection of the Department's attitude towards workers' rights. I very much hope the Department will show much more enthusiasm, or at least a willingness, to transpose the spirit and intention of the adequate minimum wages directive because it is vital for workers in this country. There are 16,000 security workers depending on the Minister of State and the Department to sign the wage agreement into law. The very least the State could do is turn up to court and defend their interests.
I am very grateful to Senator Sherlock for raising this extremely important issue. I will deal specifically with the adequate minimum wage directive as per her remarks. It is important to give a bit of background and context to what the Department is doing on the directive and its transposition. As the Senator is aware, the directive was published on 19 October last year and it must be transposed by 15 November 2024. I welcome the directive, as I did when it was published, as someone who, like the Senator, was once elected to the labour panel of the House.
The Government is extremely supportive of the principles of the directive. It must be noted that at the outset it was the Irish officials negotiating this who were pushing hard to have it achieved. The Government has consistently stated its full support for the directive and the obligations that will come with it. Officials in the Department have begun to consider their options for the transposition of the directive, including through bilateral engagement with other EU member states. This will be an extremely important part of the process. It is important to note the European Commission has advised that it intends to hold transposition workshops to assist member states in transposing the directive given the wide variety of approaches to minimum wage settings and collective bargaining throughout the EU. It is very important that we await these workshops before we make any final decision on the transposition of the directive.
Our initial analysis suggests our current minimum wage setting framework, the Low Pay Commission, is already largely in compliance with the minimum wage provisions of the directive. We have one of the highest minimum wages in the EU. The recent announcement that we are moving towards a living wage by January 2026 will help us meet our obligations on the directive's requirements on adequacy measures and indicative reference values for statutory minimum wages.
Article 4 of the directive, which deals with collective bargaining, is of particular interest to many stakeholders. The Senator referenced this at length in her opening remarks. While I will not respond on these matters directly because I do not believe they are appropriate for this debate, I will take the Senator's concerns directly on board and bring them back to the Minister. Article 4 requires Ireland to develop an action plan to promote collective bargaining. The work of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, high-level working group on collective bargaining, which was established to explore mechanisms to enhance existing industrial relations framework with a view to encouraging greater collective bargaining coverage in Ireland, is of particular relevance here. The group met 11 times and had a public consultation on the issue. It has submitted its recommendations. Officials in the Department are formulating proposals on the implementation of this report and with regard to bringing a memorandum to the Government on its implementation by the end of this year.
The Government is fully committed to improving terms and conditions for workers. Our commitment to this is not just a talking point. We made real and substantial progress on it during the Taoiseach's time in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. This stands the test of time notwithstanding the one or two issues the Senator has cited. From the steady increases to the minimum wage, the progression to living wage, the introduction of mandatory sick pay, which I very much hope to see extended in the coming years, the new pensions auto-enrolment scheme and the right to request remote working, our work and commitment are clear. The directive will build on this work and further enhance the terms and conditions for workers in Ireland.
I welcome the detail provided by the Minister of State. Nonetheless, while he is waiting for the transposition workshops, we hope work is being undertaken in the Department in parallel.
There are two further issues I wish to raise. The Minister of State's officials were heavily involved in the negotiations, which is very welcome. It is important to put on record that the Department at one stage wanted this directive to be delegated to the realm of a recommendation as opposed to a directive, but thankfully it is a directive now.
Lastly, I refer to the living wage. I do not for a moment doubt the bona fides of the Government in terms of wanting to move towards a living wage, but the increase in the minimum wage, as of January 2023, did not move the existing minimum wage one iota towards 60% of median wages in this country. In fact, it remains stuck at somewhere around 50%. Again, I urge the Minister of State, in the context of his new role, to set out a detailed timeline on how he will get it to the living wage by 2026 because, right here and now, it is not in any way apparent.
I reiterate it is important to wait for the holding of these transposition workshops by the European Commission so we can look at best practice in other member states as well as how we can lead the discussion in that area, taking on board the points raised by Senator Sherlock. The Minister has stated he is very keen to involve the social partners in discussions on the transposition of the directive in due course. That will feed, quite clearly, into the aspiration and genuine determination to achieve that living wage by the dates set out by the Government, which is something I will be putting the weight of my full support and enthusiasm behind in my new role.
Rental Sector
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The topic I have tabled for consideration as a Commencement matter is a matter of huge importance and grave urgency. A recent report in The Irish Times confirmed my own impression of the private rented-dwelling market, which is that landlords are selling up. Some 40% of houses now on the market are as a result of landlords selling. The reason for this is appallingly obvious and comes down to the fact the Government has hopelessly mismanaged the relationship between private landlords and their tenants and properties. This is not a novelty. In the past, the Department in question abolished, as best it could, bedsits and caused 10,000 to 12,000 people, at the bottom end of the property ladder, to lose their home. Now we have a situation wherein if one lets a house for more than six months, one cannot recover possession of the property except for four stated reasons: first, that one wants to sell with vacant possession; second, one wants to refurbish the property, in which case, one is obliged to offer it back to the tenant; third, that one has planning permission to redevelop the property; and, fourth, that one wants it for a member of one's family. Apart from those reasons, one cannot get one's property back from a tenant at the moment.
All of that is compounded by a Sinn Féin policy initiative which states they want to bring about the situation whereby if one wants to sell a property, one must sell it with the tenants in situ so that anybody who has been there for six months can stay there effectively forever. The property must be sold with the tenants in occupation. On that issue, the concept of "tenant" has been changed yet again by a colossal mistake in the Department, in the Custom House thought process, to encompass anybody. If, for example, a landlord lets a house to three people who share it, after a while they are entitled to bring in other people and disappear themselves. Thus, the landlord ends up with three people he or she did not originally have as tenants because the onus is on the landlord to establish a good reason the substitute tenants should not be able to stay there forever as well.
This is crazy because it means that if you let out a house fully furnished to a high standard, and I had an executive let property that was very successful, so I know about this and I got out of the market for the reasons I am describing, the Government is now saying you will never get the property back - if Sinn Féin has its way, you will never ever get it back - and you are responsible for things like fridges, cookers and everything else, you let with the house in the beginning.
The time has come for the Government to cop on to the fact that it has driven out landlords and tenants and is now being helped by Sinn Féin's helpful policy proposal. The Government has driven out landlords from the private rental market. Some might ask whether this really matters because if a landlord puts a property up for sale, somebody will buy it. That is not a good response because the people who buy properties are different from those who can only afford to rent. There are families who cannot afford to buy for one reason or another but who need houses that they can rent and bring up their children in.
A big US real estate investment trust that lets out a tower block of apartments that are empty and unfurnished is entirely different from a landlord who lets out a fully furnished house. If the Minister of State wants to know why landlords have left the market, it is because of Government policies and nothing else.
The Government is committed to supporting the continued participation of landlords and growing their investment in the rental market. Budget 2023 provides for a doubling of the cap on deductibility for a landlord's pre-letting expenditure for previously vacant properties to €10,000 per property. The requirement for vacancy for associated expenditure to qualify for such tax deductibility has been reduced from 12 to six months. Under action 2.8 of Housing for All, the Department of Finance reviewed the recommendations of the 2017 working group on the tax and fiscal treatment of landlords. The Government provided further assistance to landlords under the Finance Act 2022 via a Government Committee Stage amendment, passed in Dáil Éireann on 23 November 2022, to provide a new tax deduction of up to €10,000 for landlords who undertake retrofitting works while the tenant remains in situ.
The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2022 regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the residential rental sector and set out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Section 34 of the Acts provides that a landlord must state a reason for the termination in any Part 4 tenancy notice of termination served and that the termination will not be valid unless that reason relates to one of the following: the tenant has failed to comply with the obligations - other than the obligation to pay rent - of the tenancy; the tenant has failed to comply with the obligation to pay rent under the tenancy; the dwelling is no longer suited to the needs of the occupying household; the landlord intends to sell the dwelling within the next nine months; the landlord requires the dwelling for own or family member occupation; vacant possession is required for substantial refurbishment of the dwelling; and-or the landlord intends to change the use of the dwelling. To be legally valid, the landlord must also simultaneously forward a copy of any notice of termination served to the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. Further procedures and requirements apply in the case of tenancy terminations grounded on failure to pay rent.
According to recent RTB research, the ongoing exit of smaller landlords from the market is a consequence of multiple factors, including legacy issues from the financial and property crash of 2008 and a challenging regulatory environment. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland recently reported that four in ten house sales in quarter four of 2022 were due to landlords exiting the market. Its report cites the regulatory environment and low net returns as reasons for divestment.
Building upon budget 2023, the Government is continuing to examine and consider the need for any further financial measures to assist landlords.
The Minister has commissioned a review of the rental sector which will take into account the significant regulatory changes over the past several years. The Government will continue with its recommendations. The review will make recommendations on how our housing system can provide an efficient, affordable, safe and secure framework both for landlords and tenants. This would be very welcome. The review will include a thematic review of the principal and relevant elements of the rental market, and its conclusion will be utilised to inform future policy direction for the rental market. The review will include a public consultation as well as targeted engagement with the various external stakeholders.
I appreciate that this does not fall within the Minister of State's area of responsibility, and I take that into account. However, what she said reflects a litany of confessions of failure. The reality is that there has been a mass exodus of landlords from the market. They are not being attracted back by tax concessions of the kind that have been announced. Telling a landlord that he or she can depreciate cost of fridge over a shorter period or that pre-letting expenses will be more deductible than in the past is no consolation for somebody who is losing control over their property. The the Minister of State's comment to the effect that the Department engages with all relevant stakeholders, including the Attorney General, the RTB and landlord and tenant representative bodies, means nothing. The Government has driven private landlords out of the market. What is happening in this regard is going to continue. What the Government is proposing to do, according to the Minister of State, will not end what is going on. The result is that fewer people will be able to rent houses. Only those who can afford to buy will be able to occupy houses throughout Ireland.
I will relay Senator McDowell's thoughts back to the Department. The Senator has made some valid points. We know that many landlords are exiting the market. Many of these people were accidental landlords who might have inherited or bought houses.
Yes, or they may have married or whatever.
Many of these individuals never intended to be landlords landlord, and the find themselves in difficult circumstances at present. This can be seen throughout the country. I agree with Senator McDowell on that and on the point he made that they are not encouraged to remain within the framework of what they can really do.
The review of which I spoke is already under way and will be progressed as early as possible. Any change to the Residential Tenancies Act will require careful consideration, taking into account the constitutionality of protected property rights of landlords. As stated, the Department engages with all relevant stakeholders, including the Attorney General, the RTB and landlord and tenant representative bodies, to ensure that any proposed legislative changes are made in a careful, fair, measured and balanced manner. However, the Senator should rest assured that I will take his views on the matter back to the Minister. There is grave concern across Government about the number of landlords exiting the market.
Young Adult Travel Card
We have to stick to the time allocated for this matter because the Order of Business is due to commence at 3.30 p.m.
I welcome the Minister of State. This matter relates to the young adult travel card. The Minister of State might recall that on 4 September 2022, a scheme was introduced whereby all students attending colleges and universities and doing apprenticeships and training courses would received a 50% reduction in the travel fare in order to allow them to attend their courses, etc. A few months ago, I asked that the Minister extend this further to include all students.
I was glad that scheme was introduced and I welcome it. It makes for good public transport by making it more attractive. The discount is a great idea, not just from a cost-of-living point of view but also from a climate perspective. As the Minister of State knows, the 50% reduction relates to journeys to and from college in the South. As I said, this has been very welcomed and well received by all concerned.
Unfortunately, there is an issue with the scheme, one which I raised with the then Minister the last time I tabled a Commencement matter, regarding students from the Republic of Ireland who are attending colleges north of the Border. I understand there are approximately 2,000 such students. They live predominantly but not exclusively in the Border counties, as they come from various parts. Unfortunately, the scheme, as currently designed, does not cater for those individuals, which is unfair. I asked the Minister to have this examined and he stated he would get on to the Department with a view to having that done. When I contacted the Department and National Transport Authority, NTA, I was told that for a student from the Republic of Ireland attending a college in the North, the 50% fare reduction would apply for the portion of the journey that takes place in the South. However, the reduction does not apply to the portion of the journey taken in Northern Ireland. This is unfair to the students in question and their families given the cost-of-living increases. As the Minister of State knows, sending a child to college is very expensive. I ask that fairness be brought into the scheme.
There is a precedent for this in that pensioners with travel cards are able to travel north of the Border. The card is as good in the North as it is in the South, and rightly so. From a shared island perspective and with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaching, it is high time that this worthwhile and welcome scheme was extended to all students.
I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I thank the Senator for raising it, as I know he has done previously.
I understand the Senator is asking that the young adult card scheme be extended to include 50% discounted journeys to colleges in Northern Ireland. The Department for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, the Department is not involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services nationally. The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally by way of public transport service contracts and for the allocation of associated funding to the relevant transport operators.
I reassure Senator Gallagher that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of that goal. To support this objective, in budget 2023, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, secured €563 million of funding for public service obligation, PSO, and Local Link services this year. As Members are aware, last year, in recognition of the importance of incentivising more young people to use public transport, the Minister secured €25 million in funding for the introduction of the young adult card. Funding has again been secured under budget 2023 for the continuation of this exciting initiative, through which 19- to 23-year-olds can avail of an average discount of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services. Mature students in full-time education are also included in the scheme, as are eligible visitors to Ireland within the young adult age cohort.
The young adult card was initially introduced on PSO services on 9 May and this extended to participating commercial bus operators on 4 September. Everybody was thankful for that extension because PSO services were not available in many areas.
To get to the nub of the Senator's question on the young adult card scheme and the future growth of the scheme to include 50% discounted journeys to colleges in Northern Ireland, I am happy to clarify that third level students can avail of a 50% reduction over the normal adult fares charges on the entire route, assuming that the origin of the journey and the third level institution are both in the South. I am pleased to have been able to clarify that. This means, for example, that if 90% of the journey is through the South and the remaining 10% is through Northern Ireland, the 50% discount will then only apply to the 90% of the journey that is carried out within the State.
There seems to be a little bit of a contradiction there from what I am hearing. On the one hand we are saying that third level students can avail of a 50% reduction over the normal adult fare charges on the entire route, assuming the origin of the journey and the third level institution are both in the South.
Can I just-----
I am sorry, Senator. We have to suspend the House now in advance of the Order of Business.
Very briefly, I thank the Minister of State for the response. I appreciate that this is not her Department but I have to express my disappointment with the response I have received from the Department. I was given an undertaking that the Minister would look at this. I ask, respectfully, that the Minister of State communicate with the Minister again. This is discrimination against approximately 2,000 young students, which is 2,000 families, in the Republic of Ireland. At a time when we are talking about a shared island and the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, this is a slap in the face for those people.
I will do that.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 3.31 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.37 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 3.31 p.m. and resumed at 3.37 p.m.